108 Adages of Wisdom II
Living a Carefree Life
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Be humble to those below and show respect to those above. These are important lessons for a bodhisattva practitioner.
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Dedication rather than competition. Cherish blessings rather than indulgence.
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Love yourself, others, and all sentient beings; rescue yourself, others, and all sentient beings.
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An altruistic mind is a pure mind that does not ask for any result or reward.
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The essence of possession and giving is love , but, one benefits the self, the second benefits others. Possession is self craving; giving stems from a great love that is selfless, joyful, and equanimous.
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Self-disciplined by principle the bodhisattva does not demand of others what is inappropriate or impossible.
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A bodhisattva is broad-minded and big-hearted. He is the steppingstone and path to accomplishment for others.
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When others misunderstand you, first realize that the fault lies with you.
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At a task think of others; in a mistake, look to yourself.
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Accomplish your own ends by honoring others; reconcile hostility with respect to others; increase harmony with praise of others.
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One who cannot let go of himself lacks wisdom; one who cannot let go of others lacks compassion.
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Greet others with a blessing, gain friendship and peace at the same time.
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Show friendship and extend a helping hand and you will emit the radiance of harmony, happiness, and peace.
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Less quarreling leads to less controversy; more sincerity leads to more peace.
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To affirm your strengths is self-confidence; to know your defects is growth; to understand others is respect.
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Care for sentient beings and let go of your achievement.
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When working together with a subordinate, show concern not blame, encouragement not arrogance, consultation not authority.
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A forceful and stubborn person only hurts others without helping himself; a mild and patient person is at peace with himself and others.
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To calm people you must harmonize with them. To gain respect, be a person who is mild and patient, for harmony unites people and mildness diffuses severity.
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The meaning of life lies in constant learning and dedication; helping others leads to self-growth.
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If wisdom is your measure, you will refrain from idle chatter.
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Friendliness towards others brings a life of peace.
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A bright person is not necessarily wise; a dull person not necessarily foolish. Wisdom is not the same as knowledge; it lies in how you treat others and handle yourself.
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Compassion is to reduce others’ vexations; wisdom is to reduce your own.
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Do not force others to wear your shoes; do not confuse others’ problems with your own.
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Great merit lies in attending to others’ suffering; Great wisdom lies in helping them solve their problems.
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Once you realize that all phenomena in this world are impermanent, you will attain true inner peace.
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Reap gratitude not hatred—you will live in harmony and joy.
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A smile and a kind word are great giving that sow favorable conditions.
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If you can reduce meaningless emotions, you will avoid unnecessary trouble.
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Dedication repays gratitude; repentance disciplines the self.
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Do your best to benefit others and in the process improve yourself. This is the measure of success.
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How should you conduct yourself and deal with others? Be “square inside”—live by principle; and “round outside”—exercise expedience.
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If you cannot help others, then at least refrain from hurting them.
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Increase virtue in your speech; decrease ill will in speaking. These great merits will nurture blessings.
Living a Simple Life
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Pursue what you will in harmony; keep hope in exertion.
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Reduce the mind of gain and loss; and direct your effort to timely endeavor, and successful is likely.
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The warmth of a family lies in mutual respect and love; the value of a family lies in mutual help and understanding.
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As a boss, reduce the mind of gain and loss. Always keep honor and integrity in mind, so success will not pass you by.
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When you hear gossip, calm down and examine yourself—correct mistakes and guard against new ones. Instability and impatience make gossip worse.
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Suffering in our hearts increases our wisdom; hardship in our lives engenders appreciation of merit.
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Life, always hopeful; death, always imminent.
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Know clearly what you “need”; get rid of what you “want”.
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Treat the positive and the negative with a positive attitude.
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With failure, strive again; with success, redouble your effort. This is the principle for peace and happiness in business.
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Simplicity itself improves and protects the environment.
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Maturity cares not about the past; wisdom does not doubt the present; an open-mind does not worry about the future.
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Both favorable and unfavorable conditions strengthen us; treat them with equanimity and gratitude.
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Treat past, future, fame, and position as not yours; try to live a happy and positive life; that itself is a life of bliss and freedom.
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A diploma does not represent social standing; capability does not determine personality; fame does not bespeak virtue. No job is really high or low, only convention makes these distinctions.
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Reconcile unhappiness with sincerity, affirmation, and decisiveness, rather than hesitation, passivity, and vacillation.
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Worldly matters are never easy; but approach them with confidence and patience, and achievement will surely follow.
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Live the present with no regret about the past and no regard for the future.
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Reduce stress by diminishing the mind of gain and loss and increasing the mind of appreciation.
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No resentment or regret about the past; active, positive preparation for the future with stability in every step.
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Don’t talk gratitude; act it.
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Have no worry as you pass through the day. Find the right person; use the right method; the right moment will arise.
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Abandon concern for gain and loss; an all-embracing wisdom appears before you.
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Give your disease to the doctor and your life to the bodhisattva, then you’ll be a healthy person with nothing to worry about.
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A lack of self-understanding increases vexation.
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Conduct yourself in this way: act with devotion, be at your best, always responsible and dutiful.
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Employ “feelings” in personal concerns; “principle” in public matters.
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Rather than attempt the impossible, cherish what you have.
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Forget past, future, good and bad; stay only in the present.
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If your really let go of everything, everything is tolerable; everything is yours.
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Take up a method and you put forth effort; let go and you take it up again. Progress appears between taking up and letting go.
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Do not compare with others; simply do your best.
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Good and bad situations appear only through our eyes.
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The end of a disaster is the time for the positive. Disaster has much to teach.
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No greed or attachment—dignity is intact.
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Cherish the present moment and each moment is unique.
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Meddle in everything, problems and trouble multiply. Cast off gain and loss, you will experience liberation.
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Happiness does not lie in fame or fortune, but in contentment and inner peace.
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Keep your word; tell the truth with sincerity, use good words with goodwill— these are the merits of speech.
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Ordinary people such as we should bear a sense of responsibility and let go of the mind of attachment.
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Do not lose control in busyness, do not fall into boredom at leisure, the tide of life will not sway you this way and that.
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When things go smoothly, do not let success go to your head; when encountering difficulties, do not lose heart.
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Narrow-minded with no end to desire? then happiness will evade even the wealthy.
Maturing the Heart-Mind
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Progress in simplicity, let glory shine in difficulty.
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Strive for prosperity and show grace in adversity.
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Possess a stable temperament and succeed.
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A mind undistracted by circumstance is the result of meditation; a mind at one with circumstance is result of wisdom.
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Take retreat as progress; silence as defense; devotion to others as the best way to self-growth.
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The Buddha resides in our mind, speech, and daily life.
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Compassion is feeling with intelligence; wisdom is intelligence with flexibility.
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South, north, east, west are all fair direction; walking, standing, sitting, and lying are no other than the Path; bear contrition in mind often; repentance and repayment of gratitude yield the highest virtue.
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A practitioner should be frank and sincere and harbor no evil thoughts; this is the meaning of “a straightforward mind is the path” (Vimalakirti Sutra).
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When vexations occur, do not confront them head-on, but resolve them with a mind of shame, repentance, and gratitude.
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To experience life wholeheartedly is Chan practice.
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To possess health in body and mind is the greatest wealth.
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Breathing is wealth and being alive is hope.
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When the mind is knotted, best look inward where thoughts arise.
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When vexed and troubled, enjoy the feeling of your own breathing.
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When there is hindrance in the mind, the world is jarring; when there is no trouble in the mind, the world is in bright harmony.
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When the mind is not open and clear, suffering occurs; when the mind is open and clear, suffering turns to happiness.
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Rising and falling are normal conditions of the world. It takes a wise person to penetrate into the phenomena of rising and falling.
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Turn your mind and turn your fate.
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Wisdom is more than knowing the sutras; it means possessing the skill to transform vexations.
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“Defilement is identical to enlightenment” does not mean that you do not have defilement, but that you do not treat defilement as defilement.
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With even-mindedness and a peaceful disposition, life will be happy.
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In facing anger, look within and examine the source of your anger.
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When you are worried, you are occupied; when you let go, you are free.
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Self-affirmation, self-improvement, and self-dissolution are three stages in the path from “self” to “no-self”.
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It is better to place emphasis on cultivating good causes rather than expecting pleasant results.
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When you realize that you lack wisdom, your wisdom increases imperceptibly.
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The mind should be like a wall—still and unwavering, yet always functioning.
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Be like a dustless mirror that clearly reflects everything, but on which nothing adheres.
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When people compete blindly, it is better to choose another path.